Can opener



I 488,402 s. 'McKELLOPS cm OPENER March Filed July 53-1922 INVENTOR LeoG. MKeflaps Wr Z A T TORNEYS Patented Mar. 25, 1%24.

CAN OPENER.

Application filed July 5,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1. Leo Gansonv McKinl- LOPS, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at St. Louis, li'liissouri, have invented rertain newand useful Improvement in (an Openers, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, such. as'will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to can openers of the type that comprise a shankprovided with a prong that is adapted to be forced through the center ofa can head, and an adjustable cutting blade on said shank that isadapted to be forced downwardly through the can head so as to make asegmental or ring-shaped cut in the can head when said shank is rotated.w

The main object of my invention is to provide a can opener of thegeneral type referred to which is so constructed that the cutting bladecan be adjusted easily into various positions and locked securely in adjusted position without the necessity of ma-. nipulating a screw orsimilar retaining dev1ce.

Another object is to provide an inexpensive and easily adjustable canopener which is so constructed that there is no possibility of thecutting blade slipping during the operation of removing a can head orforming hole therein.

To this end I have devised a can opener that comprises a shank, acutting blade slidingly mounted on said shank and a means that isrendered operative by the engagement of the cutting blade with the canhead for securely locking said cuttingblade in adjusted position andwhich is rendered inoperativeby gravity, thereby automatically releasingthe blade, when the shank is moved upwardly at the completion of thecutting operation to disengage the blade from the can head.

Figure 1 of the drawings is a side elevational View of a can openerconstructed in accordance with my invention; and

Figure 2 is a top plan view of said can opener.

Referring to the drawings which illustrate the preferred form of myinvention, A designates the shank of my improved can opener whichpreferably consists of a flat metal bar or member provided at one endwith a handle B and provided at its opposite end with a prong C that isadapted to be 1922. Serial in. 572,864.

forced through the center of the head of a can which it is desired toopen. A. cutting blade D, which may be of any preferred form, isslidingly mounted on the shank A in such a manner that it can beadjusted towards and'away from the prong C to vary the diameter of thehole formed in the head of the can by the cutting blade D. Inthe form ofmy invention herein illustrated the blade D is provided with asubstantially channel-shaped carrier D" slidingly mounted on the underside of the shank A and provided at its outer end with a cross bar 1that extends across the top side of the shank so as to prevent thecarrier from dropping off the shank, but still permit it to be adjustedeasily longitudinally of the shank and there after securely locked tothe shank by'rocking it into engagement with the shank.

Means is provided for securely locking the blade D in any one of anumber of different positions, and while said locking means may beformed in various ways without departing from the spirit of my.invention, 1 prefer to provide the blade carrier D with a pin orprojection 2 and provide the shank with a plurality of holes, notches orrecesses 3 arranged in longitudinal alignment with each other dilierentdistances from the prong C, and adapted to co-operate with saidpin tolock the blade carrier to the shank A. The cross bar 1 is preferablyarranged at the rear end of the blade carrier D so that the normal.tendency of said carrier is to swing or rock downwardly into such aposition that the pin 2 thereon is out of engagement with the shank A,as shown in. broken lines in Figure 1.

In using my improved can opener the prong C on the shank A is firstforced through the center of the head of the can and the carrier D isthen moved longitudinally-0f the shank A so as to set the cutting bladeD at the proper point on the can head. The shank is then presseddownwardly so as to force the blade D through the head of the can, whichoperation causes the pin 2 on the fact that the pin 2 on the carrierprojects into one of the holes 3 in the shank and is retained therein bythe downward pressure which the user naturally exerts on the shank Aduring the operation of rotating'it to cause the blade to form a cut inthe can head. At the completion of the cutting operation the user tiltsthe shank upwardly to disengage the cutting blade from the can head, andas the blade carrier is rockably mounted on the shank, gravity causessaid blade carrier to move automatically into a posi tion to disengagethe pin 2 from the shank, thereby releasing the blade carrier andpermitting it to be moved freely longitudinally of the'shank. The bladecarrier can be set quickly and easily to out either a large hole or asmall'hole by simply tilting or'rocking the front end of the carrier Ddownwardly and moving the carrier longitudinally of the shank A, so asto arrange the cutting blade the desired distance away from the axisabout which the shank A is revolved, the pin 2 on the blade carrierpassing upwardly into one of the'holes 8 in the shank when the blade isforced downwardly through the can head and remaining seated in said holeduring the remainder of the operation of cutting out the head of the canor forming a hole therein. If desired, the carrier D can be providedintermediate its ends with one or more upwardly projecting lugs 4 thatserve as finger pieces on which the user can press downwardly so as todisengage the pin 2 from the shank A preparatory to sliding the carrierD longitudinally of the shankto set V the cutting blade in adjustedposition. The

particular construction of the blade carrier D" is immaterial andvarious means can be used for locking said carrier to the shank, so longas the carrier is mounted on the shank in such a manner and the lockingmeans is of such a character that said locking'means will be renderedoperative automatically by forcing the cutting blade down through thecan head and will be rendered. inoperative automatically when the shankis raised to disengage the cutting blade from the can head.

With a can opener of the construction above described there is nopossibility of the cutting blade slipping during the operation ofremoving the headot a can or forming a hole thereon; it is not necessaryto loosen a screw-threaded retaining device preparatory to adjusting thecutting blade and therea projection on one of said parts arranged sothat it will be moved into locking engagement with the other part toretain the blade in adjusted position by the operation of,

forcing the blade into the can head.

2. A can opener, comprisinga shank, a cutting blade, a carrier for saidblade slidingly mounted on said shank, and co-operating means on saidcarrier and shank adapt ed to be moved into interlocking engagement bydownward pressure exerted on said shank during the operation of forcingthe blade into the can head, and adapted to be disengaged by gravity.

3. A can opener, comprising a shank, a cutting blade provided with acarrier that is slidingly mounted on said shank, and cooperating deviceson said carrier and shank that are moved into locking engagement by thepressure applied to the shank during the operation of forcingthe bladeinto the can head, said carrier being mounted on the shank in such amanner that gravity tends to hold said carrier in such a position thatsaid locking devices will not co-operate with or engage each other. 7

4. A can opener, comprising a shank provided atone end with a prong forthe purpose described, a sliding carrier'on the underside of said shankprovided at one end with a part that extends transversely across theupper side of said shank, a cutting blade projecting downwardly from thefree end-of said carrier, a pin projecting upwardly from said carrier,and a plurality of spaced holes in said shank adapted to receive saidpin.

LEO GREGORY McKE-LLOPS,

